Virgo Potens

Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary ~ August 12th The Spiritual Heart of Mary ~ The Holy Ghost is wont to describe many things with few words. Wishing to praise the principal faculties of the body and soul of His Spouse, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and to exalt the merits of her Heart, He uses very few words, which nevertheless contain many meanings. What does He say? How does He praise Mary, the sovereign of hearts? He utters only three words: Quod intrinsecus latet. But these three words encompass all the great and admirable utterances that can be said or thought of her royal Heart; they reveal to us that it is a treasure hidden from the most enlightened eyes of heaven and earth, a treasure so filled with celestial riches that God alone can have a perfect knowledge of its wonders. [Cant. 4, 1 and 3 “what is hid within.”] ~ Saint John Eudes, The Admirable Heart of the Most Holy Mother of God (1680)

Novena for the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Prayer Lord Jesus Christ, Thou hast destroyed the power of death and given the hope of eternal life for body and soul. Thou hast granted Thy Mother a special place in Thy glory, and didst not allow decay to touch her body. As we rejoice in the Assumption of Mary, grant us renewed confidence in the victory of life over death. Amen. DAY 6 - August 11th Mary, our dear Mother and mighty Queen, take and receive our poor hearts with all their freedom and desires, all the love and all the virtues and graces with which they may be adorned. All we are and all we might be, all we have and hold in the order of nature as well as of grace, we have received from God through your loving intercession. Help us dear Mother to surrender to God all that we have, including our petitions. (Here mention your request). Our Lady and Queen, into your gentle hands, we entrust all, that it may be returned to its noble origin. O Queen, assumed into heaven, pray for us. Amen.

Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary ~ August 11th O Blessed Heart, so completely closed to the vanities of the earth and of self-interest that not one trace of them ever found place in thee! Thy confidence in God was equalled by thy firm trust in divine bounty, and, fired with holy generosity, never didst thou give way before the obstacles raised by hell and the world to prevent thee from advancing along the path of sacred love, but thou didst always surmount them with unremitting constancy and invincible strength. ~ Saint John Eudes, The Admirable Heart of the Most Holy Mother of God (1680)

Prayer for the Triumph of the Catholic Faith Almighty and eternal God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we kneel before Your Majesty, and thank You from the depth of our soul for the inestimable gift of the Catholic Faith, which you have deigned to reveal to us through Jesus Christ, True God and True man. We received this divine light in holy baptism and have promised You to keep this faith inviolate until death. Increase in us Your gift of the Catholic Faith. By Your grace, may it be strengthened and made unshakeable. Daily increase in us the understanding of the beauty and profoundness of the Catholic Faith, that we might live in the deep joy of Your divine truth and be ready to sacrifice all things rather than compromise on or betray this faith. Grant us the grace to be resolved to undergo a thousand deaths for even one article of the Creed. Graciously receive our act of humble reparation for all the sins committed against the Catholic Faith by the laity and clergy, especially by high-ranking clergy who, contrary to the solemn promise they made at their Ordination to be teachers and defenders of the integrity of the Catholic Faith, have become champions of heresy, poisoning the flock entrusted to them and gravely offending the Divine Majesty of Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Truth. Grant us the grace to see all the events of our life, and the immense trials our Holy Mother Church is now undergoing, in the supernatural light of faith. May we believe that You will cause to arise from today’s vast spiritual desert a renewed flourishing of faith that will adorn the garden of the Church with new works of faith and give rise to a new age of faith. We firmly believe that the Catholic Faith is the one true faith and religion, which you invite every person freely to embrace. Through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the destroyer of all heresies, and the great Martyrs and Confessors of the faith, may the Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Faith triumph again in the Church and the world, so that no soul may be lost but rather come to the knowledge of Jesus Christ, the only Saviour of mankind, and through a right faith and righteous life attain eternal beatitude in You, O Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. To You be given all honour and glory, for ever and ever. Amen. + Athanasius Schneider, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Saint Mary in Astana

Prayer of St. John Eudes August 10 - August 18th (may be said as a Novena) Feast: August 19th O Lord, Thou hast created me for Thyself, to love Thee and to enjoy Thee, infinite Good, ineffable Beauty; do not permit me to lose sight of this sublime end toward which I must tend; do not permit me to wander among the wretched satisfactions that vain, feeble creatures can offer me. O my Lord, what poor use I have made of creatures! Pardon me, O Lord. Henceforth I do not want to use anything unless it is for Thy glory and according to Thy holy will, as Thy Son Jesus did. O my God, if in the past I have turned aside from Thee Who art my Beginning, my End, and my supreme good; if I have turned toward myself and creatures, preferring their will and mine to Thine, I here and now promise to renounce, entirely and forever, the world and myself, and to give myself wholly and forever to Thee. O my God, I give myself to Thee as my Beginning; take complete possession of me. May I always abide in Thee! Be the beginning and end of all my actions. O my God, I give myself to Thee as my End, my Center, my supreme Good. Draw me to Thee! Make me tend continually toward Thee. Be my delight, my glory, my treasure, my all! Amen. ~ St. John Eudes St. John Eudes, pray for us.

Novena for the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary August 6th - 14th Prayer Lord Jesus Christ, Thou hast destroyed the power of death and given the hope of eternal life for body and soul. Thou hast granted Thy Mother a special place in Thy glory, and didst not allow decay to touch her body. As we rejoice in the Assumption of Mary, grant us renewed confidence in the victory of life over death. Amen. DAY 5 - August 10th O merciful and loving Mother, may your glorious beauty fill our hearts with a distaste for earthly things and an ardent longing for the joys of Heaven. May your merciful eyes glance down upon our struggles and our weakness in this vale of tears. Hear then loving Mother, our request and plead to Jesus for us. (Here mention your request). Crown us with the pure robe of innocence and grace here, and with immortality and glory in Heaven. O Queen, assumed into heaven, pray for us. Amen.

Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary ~ August 10th O Blessed Heart, thou hast hated nothing, fled from nothing, feared nothing, except what could injure the interests of thy Beloved Son, and hast never known anger except towards that which was opposed to His glory! ~ Saint John Eudes, The Admirable Heart of the Most Holy Mother of God (1680)

August 9th ~ St. Jean-Marie- Baptiste Vianney ~ Confessor The Curé of Ars Patron Saint of Parish Priests (1786 - 1858) Traditional Feast Prayer is to our soul what rain is to the soil. ~ St. John-Marie Vianney The soul hungers for God, and nothing but God can satiate it. Therefore He came to dwell on earth and assumed a Body in order that this Body might become the Food of our souls. ~ St. John-Marie Vianney Every Consecrated Host is made to burn itself up with Love in a human heart. ~ St. John-Marie Vianney ℣ St. John-Marie Vianney, Patron of Priests, ℟ Pray for us and for all priests, especially (name the priest(s) for whom you wish to pray). Amen.

Novena for the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary August 6th - 14th Prayer Lord Jesus Christ, Thou hast destroyed the power of death and given the hope of eternal life for body and soul. Thou hast granted Thy Mother a special place in Thy glory, and didst not allow decay to touch her body. As we rejoice in the Assumption of Mary, grant us renewed confidence in the victory of life over death. Amen. DAY 4 - August 9th O Dearest Mary, assumed into Heaven, God placed thee at His right hand, that thou might intercede for His little ones as the Mother of God. In the midst of all the saints, thou standest as their Queen and ours, dearer to the Heart of God than any other creation. Thou prayest for thy children and grant to us every grace won by our loving Savior on the Cross. Please intercede for us now in our needs, and ask Jesus to grant our request, if it be for the good of our souls. (Here mention your request). O Queen, assumed into heaven, pray for us. Amen.

Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary ~ August 9th The Holy Ghost, the Son of God and His Saints have given high praise to the sacred members of Mary’s immaculate body. We may therefore conclude that her blessed heart, the first and worthiest part, is deserving of especial veneration. Shall we not share the sentiments of Jesus Christ, our Head, and follow the example He gives us? Mary’s Divine Son, who has willed to be our Head and our Brother, manifests great zeal in honoring even the smallest exterior detail of the person of His Most Blessed Mother. ~ Saint John Eudes, The Admirable Heart of the Most Holy Mother of God (1680)

Novena for the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary August 6th - 14th Prayer Lord Jesus Christ, Thou hast destroyed the power of death and given the hope of eternal life for body and soul. Thou hast granted Thy Mother a special place in Thy glory, and didst not allow decay to touch her body. As we rejoice in the Assumption of Mary, grant us renewed confidence in the victory of life over death. Amen. DAY 3 - August 8th O Mother, assumed into Heaven, because thou hast shared in all the mysteries of our Redemption here below, Jesus has crowned thee with glory. With thy most glorious and powerful intercession, help us O loving Mother, and present to Jesus our request. (Here mention your request). O Queen, assumed into heaven, pray for us. Amen.

Novena to St. Jean-Marie Baptiste Vianney, the Curè of Ars August 8th ~ Day Nine: The Desire for Heaven ℣ Saint John-Marie Baptist Vianney, O Holy Priest of Ars, ℟ Thy precious remains are contained in a magnificent reliquary, the donation from the priests of France. But this earthly glory is only a very pale image of the unspeakable glory which thou enjoyest with God. During the time thou wast on earth, thou used to repeat in thy dejected hours, “One will rest in the other life.” It is done, thou art in eternal peace, and eternal happiness. I desire to follow thee one day. Until then, I hear thou sayest to me: "You should work and fight as long as you are in the world." Teach me then to work for the salvation of my soul: to adhere to the one, holy Catholic Faith, to receive the sacraments worthily, to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ (here bow your head), and to do good towards my neighbor, in order that I may receive the happiness of the Elect with thee. Holy Priest of Ars, I have confidence in thine intercession. ℣ Pray for me during this novena especially for (name your request(s)) Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory Be. ℣ St. John-Marie Vianney, Patron of Priests, ℟ Pray for us and for all priests, especially (name the priest(s) for whom you wish to pray). Amen.

Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary ~ August 8th The Corporeal Heart of Mary ~ Just as everything in Our Lord Jesus Christ is great and admirable, so also everything that concerns Mary, His holy Mother, is replete with grandeur and marvels. Every part of the sacred humanity of the Son of God is deified and raised to an infinite dignity through its union with the Divinity; so likewise everything in the Blessed Virgin Mary is ennobled and sanctified by her divine maternity. There is no part of the sacred body of the God-Man that is not worthy of the eternal admiration of angels and men, and there is nothing in the virginal body of the Mother of God that is unworthy of the eternal praise of all creatures. ~ Saint John Eudes, The Admirable Heart of the Most Holy Mother of God (1680)

Novena for the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Prayer Lord Jesus Christ, Thou hast destroyed the power of death and given the hope of eternal life for body and soul. Thou hast granted Thy Mother a special place in Thy glory, and didst not allow decay to touch her body. As we rejoice in the Assumption of Mary, grant us renewed confidence in the victory of life over death. Amen. DAY 2 - August 7th O Mary, assumed into Heaven, we venerate thee as the Queen of Heaven and earth. As thou tasted the bitterness of pain and sorrow with thy Son on earth, thou now enjoyest eternal bliss with Him in Heaven. Loving Queen, intercede for us in our needs. (Here mention your request). We praise Jesus for giving us such a loving mother. O Queen, assumed into heaven, pray for us. Amen.

Novena to St. Jean-Marie Baptiste Vianney, the Curè of Ars August 7th ~ Day Eight: Exquisite Purity ℣ Saint John-Marie Baptist Vianney, O Holy Priest of Ars, ℟ A witness of your life made this magnificent praise of you: ‘We would have taken him for an angel in a mortal body.' You so edified others; modesty and exquisite purity radiated from your body. With such charm and with such enthusiasm you preached to others about these beautiful virtues, which you said resembled the perfume of a vineyard in bloom. Please, I beg you to join your entreaties to those of Mary Immaculate and Saint Philomena in order that I guard always, as God asks me, the purity of my heart. You, who have directed so many souls towards the heights of virtue, defend me in temptations and obtain for me the strength to conquer them. Holy Priest of Ars, I have confidence in thine intercession. ℣ Pray for me during this novena especially for (name your request(s)) Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory Be. ℣ St. John-Marie Vianney, Patron of Priests, ℟ Pray for us and for all priests, especially (name the priest(s) for whom you wish to pray). Amen.